Japan automakers' tie-up synergies to take shape in 2017

TOKYO -- The Japanese auto industry saw extensive realignment in 2016 as carmakers joined hands to sharpen their edge in a global race demanding the adoption of myriad new technologies. How these partnerships fare will be a focal point in the new year. ( read original story ...)

Japan Looks to Escape Its Economic Slump

Despite the upheavals of 2016, Japan plans to begin the new year by staying its economic course. In a Dec. 20 monetary policy meeting, the Bank of Japan chose to hold its interest rates steady — an unsurprising decision, given that in September the bank ... ( read original story ...)

Japan seeks to attract workers, tourists to quake-hit region

TOKYO -- Japan aims to attract more workers and tourists to the northeastern region of Tohoku, which is still trying to rebuild its economy from a devastating earthquake and tsunami nearly six years ago. Starting in April, government programs will provide ... ( read original story ...)

Foreign trends play larger role in Japanese growth for 2017

TOKYO -- The Japanese economy appears likely to expand by roughly 1% this year, but foreign risks such as a protectionist shift in Western nations and a stronger dollar threaten to undermine the growth potential. The global economy is trending upward. ( read original story ...)

Japanese stocks to rise in 2017

TOKYO: Japan’s Nikkei is set to end slightly lower this year but rise in 2017 as expectations US President-elect Donald Trump’s policies will ratchet up interest rates buoyed the dollar against the yen, giving Japan Inc’s earnings a boost ... ( read original story ...)

Japan’s ‘lucky bag’ market is a basket of unknowns

The next few weeks may see enlivened speculation Toshiba will be removed from the Nikkei 225 altogether. If that happens, even a cheap yen may not reverse an impression that Japan equities are a lucky bag best left on the shelf. ( read original story ...)

Japanese media critical of new comfort woman statue in Busan

The Japanese news outlets also expressed concerns about South Korea’s upcoming presidential election. The Nikkei noted that while President Park Geun-hye “reached an irreversible agreement” on the comfort women issue, South Korea “could demand ... ( read original story ...)

Japanese is affecting the English lexicon in new ways

The earliest Japanese loanword to appear in the Oxford English Dictionary ... It first appeared in the OED in a 1997 citation from the Nikkei Weekly, but didn’t make the dictionary until 2013. The year before last, it was dubbed Oxford Dictionaries ... ( read original story ...)

The top tech stories of 2016

Japan is one of many countries that has banned the device on ... A line on some fresh cash: Line launched its IPO on the Tokyo and New York stock exchanges, and raised more than ¥115 billion ahead of the listing. It was the second-biggest IPO of the ... ( read original story ...)

Swiss say goodbye to banking secrecy

The first beneficiaries of the Swiss tilt towards banking transparency include mostly rich European countries as well as Australia, Japan, Canada, and South Korea. For developing countries like India, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and South Africa the process ... ( read original story ...)

Diverging central banks will power dollar in 2017

One factor is that America's economy is expanding faster than the European Union or Japan. But central banks also have a lot to do with it. After years of buying bonds in an effort to ease financial conditions and rekindle inflation, the Bank of Japan's ... ( read original story ...)

In the world of internet banking, has everything gone mobile?

Here we address some key issues surrounding mobile versus desktop in relation to credit union internet banking. Mobile use demand is growing ... on computers in 10 countries including the US and Japan.” There is no doubt that trend has continued. ( read original story ...)